The present invention relates, in general, to steam condensers with temperature regulating apparatus and in particular to a new and efficient steam condenser having an apparatus that is positioned outside of the heat exchanger bundles or sections of the steam condenser whereby articulated electrically heated blankets or electrically heated panels are used to provide a freeze proof environment in the steam condenser system during times of low temperatures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,899 discloses a method and apparatus for regulating outdoor steam condensers whereby a roll-shutter is employed outside of and at a distance from the steam condenser for rolling shutters to the steam pipeline. Through the implementation of a roll-shutter system, a recirculation channel is created for the heated air leading to the condensation conduits and serves as a means for avoiding problems in connection with freezing at low outer environment temperatures.
Another approach is the use of screening elements such as flaps or louvers which serve both as a means to protect the steam condenser from the outside elements of the environment and as an apparatus for channeling heated air from the steam condenser over portions of the condenser that are subject to freezing.
During cold weather operation of an air cooled vapor or steam condenser, the danger of water freezing in the drain lines remains a significant problem and contributes to inefficient operation in the heat exchanger sections.
Although both the roll-shutter systems and the systems that employ flaps or louvers alleviate some of the freezing that occurs in the steam condensers, they are not total freeze-proof systems and offer marginal protection from freezing at best. Due to the reliance on air recirculation to heat the heat exchanger bundles of the condenser, there is significant inefficiency in the time involved in increasing the condenser operating temperature to a desired level. Also, a temperature uniformity problem persists in that the operators have no control over which sections of the steam condenser will be heated first due to the unpredictability involved in their dependence on the recirculation of air.